Brothers and Sisters,
Since my arrival at our parish in August, these past 3 months have been a season of listening. I’ve been blessed to meet with several of our ministries and to share dinners with a number of parish families. Thank you for welcoming me, helping me understand your experiences, allowing me to hear your concerns, and sharing your hopes for our future.
I am pleased to share with you that I have recently established our pastoral council, consisting of twelve members: four from each of our three parishes of origin. Their names will be listed in next week’s bulletin.
I have met with the council together and with the representatives of each parish-of-origin community separately. These conversations have helped me better understand the experiences of our three parishes-of-origin and the concerns we carry as we work to move forward together. I will continue to meet regularly with the pastoral council and seek their counsel on important matters affecting our parish.
Our next step is to establish our finance council. We are now accepting nominations, and I ask you to prayerfully consider parishioners who have strong experience in business or finance, along with the time and willingness to serve. Anyone belonging to the parish may nominate someone by emailing our business manager, Margie Parks at holyspirit.mparks@outlook.com. Please submit nominations to Margie by Tuesday, November 10th. After the nominations have been submitted, the finance council will be formed after consultation with the parish council.
Finally, we are pleased to announce that we will be holding a special Mass and luncheon celebrating the 100th anniversary of St. Mary Church. The gathering will take place on Saturday, November 14th at St. Mary Church in Kouts, with Mass beginning 11:00 a.m., followed by lunch in the hall at noon. This will be a wonderful opportunity to give thanks for a century of faith for the people of Kouts.
I want to take this opportunity to clarify the current status of St. Mary Church. The merger of St. Mary Parish into Holy Spirit and the closure of the church building are two separate matters. Although the parish merger has taken place, St. Mary Church building remains a worship site of our parish, and is currently available for celebrations such as funerals, baptisms, and special occasions like this anniversary Mass.
The plan remains that at some point in the future, the timing of which to be discerned by our community, St. Mary Church will end its time as one of our parish’s worship sites and will be relegated by formal decree and closed. I will keep you informed as that process moves forward.
If you would like to attend this special occasion on November 14th, please RSVP by calling Rosie Jancich at 219-309-7204.
Thank you for your prayers, your patience, and your willingness to help build our parish family. Please continue to pray for one another and for guidance in all that lies ahead.

Peace,
Fr. Steven Caraher